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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Here is an absolutely delectable spin on taco meat for the next time you're the mood to try something new. The flavor in this is amazing - it is sweet and spicy, and the smokiness of the ground chipotle peppers adds a startling depth. It is fabulous.

I made it with some of my black raspberry mango jam, but really, any dark berry jam would work (especially some variation of raspberry, cranberry, blueberry or blackberry). I didn't have any taco shells or corn tortillas, so I whipped up some garlic potato fritters and ate mine over one of those (as pictured), but I think this would be wonderful as a filling for a cheesy quesadilla or over rice.

I can't wait to eat the leftovers. Seriously - if it sounds good to you, chances are you'll love this.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and jalapeno peppers (if you are using them). Cook for 4 minutes or so, then add the minced garlic and continue to cook until the onions are tender. Add the ground turkey and cook until it is done, stirring well and breaking it up into small pieces. If desired, drain the excess fat and return to the heat.

Add the spice mixture, soy soy sauce, jam, and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until it is thick (it may be a bit sticky because of the jam). Serve immediately in tacos or quesadillas. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I say Mexican, you say....tacos? Burritos? Guacamole? Salsa and chips? While I love all of the above, there are times when I feel a pull towards a different kind of Mexican. One that I don't taste very often, and which is full of simple -- but powerful -- flavors. One that normally, I would have to go to a Mexican restaurant to find. But that can be such a pain - finding a restaurant that can prepare something gluten-free, where there's no danger of cross-contamination? I'm sure they're out there, but honestly, it's usually easier to make your own meal from scratch.

So that's what I did. I recently became a fan of Pati's Mexican Table, a wonderful blog featuring recipes that will seriously make you drool as you click from page to page. I started with her recipe for Chicken Tinga and modified it a bit, but I think what I ended up with is essentially what she did. The sauce becomes smoky and flavorful with the chipotle peppers, and I let mine simmer for so long that the flavors had time to blend together in a truly fantastic way. Pati suggests making it one layer in a stack of ingredients that make up tostados, but I ate it for at least five dinners in a row as you see it pictured here, in a crispy garlic pepper quesadilla with some melted Daiya cheese. But it was also good over brown rice, with tortilla chips, or even on its own. I can't imagine guacomole would be a bad idea. I passed the recipe on to my cousin and got a text several days later telling me how fantastic it was. I think you'll feel the same way.

Boil the chicken in salted water and then pull apart to shred. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend the tomatoes and tomatillos until very smooth. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and continue to saute for another 3 - 4 minutes (but be careful not to burn the garlic!). Pour the tomato mixture in and stir in the spices and chipotle peppers. Bring to a low boil and then reduce to simmer, covered, for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until you are happy with the flavor.

Add the shredded chicken and continue to cook over medium-low heat until it is very thick (or at least, no longer liquidy). Remove to serve.

For pulled chicken quesadillas:

Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and sprinkle garlic powder and ground pepper across the bottom. Place a corn tortilla on the skillet and press into the spices so they stick to it. Sprinkle some Daiya cheese (or your favorite cheese alternative) over the tortilla and cook over medium-high heat until the tortilla is nice and crisp and the cheese is melted. Spread 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the hot pulled chicken onto one half of the tortilla and fold over. Serve immediately with guacamole, sour cream alternative, and/or salsa, if desired. Also delicious on its own!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

I cannot remember the last time I had Pad Thai. It's not something I ordered very often in Thai restaurants to begin with, being much more of a coconut curry fan, but there's something about obtaining a bottle of gluten-free soy sauce that makes you feel adventurous and ambitious. All of a sudden, you crave Pad Thai for the simple reason that now, you can eat Pad Thai.

A quick survey of my kitchen revealed that conditions were perfect for my first attempt at this dish. I had a bottle of tamarind sauce from an international grocery shopping spree of long ago, a bag of scallions in the freezer, frozen chicken tenderloins, stir-fry rice noodles, and several cloves of garlic. And that new bottle of soy sauce. It was a done deal - Pad Thai was happening.

I looked up a few recipes to get a general sense of what to do and then started frying. I make no claims that this is a remotely authentic method of preparation, but what I can say is that my kitchen quickly started to smell amazing, and what resulted lived up to the smell. This comes together pretty quickly and is easily doubled if you're cooking for more than one. Whether this is an old favorite or you're developing a new taste like I was, I think you'll love this recipe.

*If you have a wok, that will be the optimal pan to use, but a nonstick pan will work just as well.

Place the rice noodles in a bowl and pour several cups of boiling water over them. Set the timer for 8 minutes and let them soak. You want them to be soft but not too soft; otherwise, they'll break up in the pan when you fry them. When they are al dente, drain them and set aside. If you aren't going to be using them right away, you might want to cover them in the interim with a bit of cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.

In a nonstick pan or wok, heat the oil. Add the garlic, scallions, cashews, and chicken and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through. Add the cooked noodles, soy sauce, tamarind sauce, sugar, lime juice, and spices and cook until the sauce is mostly absorbed. Push it all to the side of the pan and crack the egg into the open space. Quickly scramble it, keeping it on that side of the pan until done, and then mix to combine it with the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately topped with another squirt of lime juice and crushed cashews or peanuts.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

I'm writing this from the throes of a gluten reaction, so this post will be pretty short and sweet. I've been meaning to post about these for a while now, though, and since I've been otherwise terrifically unproductive today, I'll feel better if I've at least been able to share the recipe with you.

You may be wondering why I've classified a protein bar as a dessert. But these are switch hitters. They strike that delicate balance between being healthy and being, well, dessert-y. But trust me, they are as delicious as they are easy to make. You can decide for yourself just how healthy they are, but my own opinion is that the sugar from the jam and chocolate chips is more or less canceled out by the dense, protein-filled, plain chickpea flour base. I'm convinced that it all has to do with some complex mathematical culinary equation. Which, of course, means that you can eat way more of them under the guise of their being secretly healthy. If my friends and I are any indication, it will just take one bite for you and your friends to be hooked.

Combine the chickpea flour, water and salt in a small bowl and mix until all clumps are gone. Pour into the pan and spread evenly.

Sprinkle in the chocolate chips evenly over the whole pan. Microwave the jam for 20 - 30 seconds until softened, then drizzle it over the batter. Use a fork or knife to swirl it in evenly. If desired, sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon evenly over the batter.

Bake at 425 F for 15 - 20 minutes, or just until slightly browned at the edges and cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving. Cut into pieces and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They are best if warmed slightly before eating.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Several weeks ago, I came across a recipe for 30-minute flatbread on the Gluten-free Cooking School's website, and I've been meaning to share my modification of it with you ever since. I decided to experiment with making it more whole-grain with teff and sorghum flour, and because I had also been talking with a friend about her recent experiments with stovetop flatbread pizzas, opted to cook it in a skillet instead of in the oven.

It was so. good. This had one of the best tastes I've ever had in a gluten-free bread, and the texture is amazing, with a perfect balance between the dense whole grains and the fluffy starch. And it bends. You know, without crumbling to pieces. It is a very quick and easy way to put bread on the table that, well, tastes like real bread (as if that is too much to ask). I have used this to make stovetop pizzas, as a bread to scoop up stew, and wrapped around a hot dog as a sort of bun. You can definitely make this in the oven instead of on the stove if you want. It's fantastic either way!

Teff Stovetop Flatbread (Adapted from this recipe from the Gluten-free Cooking School)

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix to combine.

Spray a nonstick cooking skillet with cooking spray and put over medium heat. To make each flatbread: scoop out about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of dough and spread it evenly around the pan to make a flatbread. Cover the skillet with a lid to make a sort of makeshift stovetop oven and cook for 4 - 5 minutes (until browned). Flip, then cook for another 4 - 5 minutes or until cooked completely through. Remove from pan. Serve immediately if desired.

To bake in oven: Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 8x8 pans with cooking spray and divide the dough into two halves. Spread each half of the dough evenly across the bottom of the pans. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and slice to serve immediately.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for several months.

Serving suggestions:
-Eat plain! It's delicious.
-Top with your favorite pizza toppings and melt some Daiya cheese on top for a stovetop pizza.
-Fold in half to make a hot dog or hamburger bun.
-Fold in half to make a lavash-style wrap.
-Top with peanut butter and jelly.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

I'm not going to lie to you. These are NOT healthy brownies. There are no black beans hidden in them to give you a protein boost; there's no banana or applesauce to replace the fat. No cocoa powder to cut some of the calories, and no agave nectar to replace white sugar. These are full-on chocolate fudge brownies. If you're looking for a healthy brownie, you may want to excuse yourself and find a different recipe.

But for the rest of you, these are probably exactly what you're looking for. They are chewy, fudgey, and dense. They taste illicit. And they are addictive. I brought them to a dinner party with three friends, and we scarfed them down as if we hadn't just eaten a full meal minutes before. We looked up at each other at one point, and one of my friends said with wide eyes, "I think I just ate four of those. And not four small ones, either." By that time, I think the rest of us had lost count of how many we had eaten. That should probably tell you how fantastic these are.

I tend to like my brownies extra-fudgey and underbake them a bit to get that texture (just by a few minutes), but you can bake these a bit longer if you want to try for a more cake-y texture (although I have not tried it myself). Either way, this is one recipe that mimics its gluten counterpart to a tee, and in my opinion, may even surpass it. And it's appropriate for moderate to hardcore chocolate fans.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil or spray with cooking spray.

Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted. Alternatively, place them in the microwave for 2 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently to break up the clumps of chocolate. Let cool for 10 minutes (til they are about at room temperature).
Stir the sugar into the melted chocolate until combined. Stir in the eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Whisk in the vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Gently fold the mixture into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth top. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and pres lightly into the batter. If you want some extra special brownies, swirl in Marshmallow Fluff, peanut butter, and/or jam with a knife.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, anywhere from 35-45 minutes (I baked mine for 39 minutes or so). Start checking them after about 30 minutes to gauge how quickly they are baking so you don't overbake them. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve once cooled. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze; reheat before serving. Delicious served with vanilla or peppermint ice cream.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Has anyone perfected the amount of noodles to make for one serving? I often add just a few too many to the pot by mistake and end up with a little container with the unused ones sitting in my fridge. They sit there, plain, sauceless, and sadly forgotten. Too few in number to be a full serving of pasta, but too many to throw away.

The other day, determined not to let them go to waste, I got a little experimental. I tossed them in a bowl, added an egg, some frozen kale, and Daiya cheese. I crossed my fingers and poured it all into a hot skillet, forming it into a pancake-like omelette. And what resulted was pretty delicious, I have to say. It was so simple to make and accomplished simultaneous goals of using up leftovers (thus avoiding the guilt of throwing food away) and having a meal on the table quickly (it took me all of 5 minutes from start to finish). So if you're like me and have some leftover noodles taunting you from the fridge, give this a try!

Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into the skillet and cook for 2 - 4 minutes, or until the omelette is set. Flip it over carefully and continue to cook until the egg is cooked through. Serve with a fresh salad or on its own.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

What do you think of when you hear the word "scones"? I think of tea. Proper English teas, with tiny cucumber sandwiches and fancy tiered trays of desserts and small porcelain cups. I think of raised pinky fingers.

This month, the Gluten-free Ratio Rally took on scones.

It's hard to find a universal ratio for scones. Michael Ruhlman doesn't lay out a ratio for them. He gives one for biscuits, but while scones are related, they're really somewhere in their own separate domain. You can see the family resemblance. A similar profile; a familiar crumb. But they have their own thing going on. They're independent.

So this month was particularly challenging, because not only was I trying to find the right combination of flavors, but I was also trying to find the right ratio at the same time. To complicate matters, there are different kinds of scones as well - classic scones, cream scones, drop scones.... It's almost enough to make you throw in the towel and just make a cake or cookies instead. Almost.

I hope it goes without saying that I had my fair share of baking failures this month. Some were too liquidy, while others were too dry. (I realize that it's starting to sound like the scones version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but seriously, the consistency was really tough!) The first batch that actually tasted good turned out to be more like a cake than a scone. Delicious, yes. But scones they were not.

But finally came a version that I could dust with flour and pat out into rounds. I could cut it into pieces and move those pieces to a baking sheet without them falling apart. And they baked up into wonderful scones which, especially when paired with the lemon-almond glaze, tasted pretty heavenly. They were dry enough to be, well, scones and crumble apart, but moist enough to actually stay together. The ratio of flour : liquid : egg : fat I ended up with was 2.5 : 1 : 0.5 : 1. Kind of a strange ratio, but there it is all the same.

I think it's important to note that the strawberry flavor may not come through very strongly if you don't add the chopped strawberries to the batter. If you don't want to add them for some reason, I'd add a bit of strawberry extract to make sure that it gets its fair share of the limelight. Also, I did add chocolate chips to some of these to test out the flavor. They were really good, although I sort of had the feeling that they were standing between the lemon almond glaze and my palate. So I've included them in the recipe as optional, and depending on how much you love chocolate and strawberries together, you can take them or leave them.

These are best eaten warm. Warm from the oven is best (does anyone out there really wait for baked goods to cool before eating them? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who goes right in for a taste...right?), but at least microwaved for 10-30 seconds if you're having one from the fridge or freezer.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and combine well. Add the shortening and cut it into the flour with a pie cutter. Add the banana pieces and cut those in the same way.

In a separate bowl, mix together the strawberry puree, egg, and vanilla. Stir just until combined and then add in the chopped strawberries (if you want, reserve a few to place on top of the scones as they are baking).

Dust a flat surface generously with brown rice flour (this dough will be kind of sticky). Shape the dough into a circle about 7 - 8 inches in diameter and dust generously with brown rice flour. Using a large knife, cut it into sixths and place the pieces onto the greased baking sheets. If desired, press a few strawberry pieces into the top of each one. Using a pastry brush, brush a light coating of the non-dairy milk onto each scone.

Bake at 425 F for 12 - 18 minutes or until firm to the touch and ever-so-lightly browned. Remove from oven and leave on the hot baking trays for a few minutes to help them solidify more, then remove to a rack to cool.

Drizzle with the lemon almond glaze (see below) when they are completely cooled. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze. Warm before serving.

To make Lemon Almond Glaze:
Combine all ingredients and mix well until you have the consistency you want (you want it to be relatively thick so it stays on the scones). Drizzle over the cooled scones.

If you like scones, you'll want to check out what everyone else came up with this month - they all look pretty fabulous to me! For a complete list of scone creations from the other gluten-free bloggers in the Ratio Rally, visit Lauren's site, Celiac Teen. She hosted the Gluten-free Ratio Rally this month.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

This is sort of the power bar of bread. I have written about farinata before, but since then, have experimented more with different flavors, as well as the consistency and how thick to make it. This is my favorite new version so far - it's not quite as thick and bakes up in just 15 minutes, and it's loaded with the wonderful flavors of sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and Italian herbs. I have used it as a pizza crust, pan-fried it with melted Daiya cheese on top, and eaten it warm from the oven. But I also find it to be a fantastic snack to bring along with me to munch, as it's full of protein, low in fat, and totally delicious. The best thing about this recipe is that it is totally adaptable to whatever flavors you feel like in that moment. Just start with the 1:1 ratio of chickpea flour to water and then add whatever else your heart desires. I have yet to try a sweet version of this bread (although that is coming soon - I am thinking about a chocolate chip and berry jam swirl?), but so far, every savory combination I've tried has been fantastic. It's great with cumin, but this recipe is proof positive that it meshes with Italian spices and herbs as well. So while I definitely recommend trying out this particular combination of flavors, you can just add whatever happens to sound the most delicious to you in the moment.

In a bowl, combine the chickpea flour and water and mix well to get rid of any lumps. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Pour into the pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, or just until slightly golden brown on top and the sides start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Remove from oven and slice to serve immediately. Store slices in the fridge for up to a week for snacking.

Serving suggestions:
-Serve plain and warm
-Toast slices on a skillet and melt some cheese (or "cheese") on top
-Use as a base for pizza
-Slice into bars and wedges and pack for a snack on-the-go